This year was better than I could have dreamed. It didn’t start out that way,
though.
The anxiety that I’ve lived with for most of my life became unmanageable
and I decided that I wanted to get it under control. That meant going on
medication, which has changed my life for the better in fairly significant ways.
Price flew up to NYC to help me out while I was getting through the first couple
of weeks of that journey, which were not easy. I’m beyond grateful for him being
there for me, and for the family and friends I leaned quite heavily on during
that time.
A new relationship formed shortly afterwards. Emma and I met in August of 2022
at work. More accurately, on a Google Meet video call because she was in Arizona
and I was in Georgia at the time. Our adventure of love has been a beautiful
experience, one that has taught me so much. And as I wrote in a song for her:
all day I could look at your face. (The song is on Apple Music and
Spotify).
I’ll be posting a few albums for 2023 but this is the first because NYC was the
setting of so many important moments throughout the year.
I got to watch Lupini for almost two weeks while Jean and Molly were in New
Zealand (not jealous at all).
This is Emma’s French Bulldog, Mu.
This is Emma. We started dating this year. She inspires me every day. And she is
one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.
After knowing each other for 8 months this was the first picture we took
together. The first of many. Emma had just put her hair up like Deb from
Napoleon Dynamite.
Sara and the kids came to visit during their Spring Break. It was Holden’s
first time in NYC. I always love having them here.
Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Hi
The Empire State Building.
Lower Manhattan at dusk, taken from the Brooklyn Bridge.
Emma at Little Island.
This is Scott. He and I have known each other for a while but we became really
great friends this year. We went on a photo shoot around the city and I captured
this in front of the Washington Square Arch.
Emma on the Manhattan Bridge.
Emma and I on the Manhattan Bridge during an impromptu day out. We rode Citi
Bikes to the bridge’s Manhattan side and walked across to Brooklyn (we meant to
walk across the Brooklyn Bridge but we were winging the outing). Then we ate a
delicious vegan pizza at Time Out Market.
I stepped up my music-making hobby this year in many ways. I began taking piano
lessons, I got a new acoustic guitar after playing the same one for 20 years, I
got an adjustable-height desk for all of my music gear, I got a rack to hold my
preamp and patch bay, and I wrote and recorded a song (it’s on Apple Music
and Spotify). I’m having so much fun making and playing music.
Brooklyn brownstones.
Dried out flowers.
Todd visited NYC a couple of times this year and we got to hang out
quite a bit.
I’ve been growing my hair out.
I caught COVID for the first time, the week before the new vaccines came out. It
was like a mild flu, but then I had upper resperatory issues for a few months
afterwards which was quite annoying.
Emma and I during her birthday weekend. We went out to eat at a restaurant on
Governor’s Island.
During Emma’s birthday weekend we went to the top of the Empire State Building
with her sisters.
Mu cuddling his ball.
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